Feeding mechanism for wool-washing machines



(No Model.)

P G. & A. O. SARGENT. IEEDING MECHANISM FOR WOOL WASHING MACHINES.

1\T0.411,534. Patented Sept, 24, 1889.

Every/ 0 7's UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FREDERICK G. SARGENT AND ALLAN C. SARGENT, OF GRANITEVILLE,

MASSACHUSETTS.

FEEDING MECHANISM FOR WOOL-WASHlNG MACH-INIES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 411,534, datedSeptember 24,1889.

Application filed January 17, 1887. $erial No. 224,649. (No model.)

To ctZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, FREDERICK G. SAR- ennr and ALLAN O. SARGENT, ofGraniteville, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts,have invented a new and useful Improvement in Feeding Mechanism foroolashing Machines, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to feed mechanism especially adapted for feedingwool and other similar fibers to washing-machines; and it consists incertain new and useful constructions and combinations of the severalparts thereof, substantially as herein after described and claimed.

In the drawings, Figure l is a side elevation of a feedingmachineconstructed according to our invention with a portion of one of thesides broken away to show the construction of the operating mechanism.Fig. 2, is an end view of the same.

A A is the casing of the machine, which is constructed in the generalform of two sides and an end of a box. upon feet. An apron 0 forms thebottom of the box and runs over rollers c c. The ends of the shaft ofroller 0 are mounted in boxes in the side casing A, and on theprojecting end of one of them is attached the pulley p,by which it isdriven from any suitable counter-shaft. The apron 0 runs in thedirection indicated by the arrow, and with many kinds of long wool it isfound necessary to incline it upward toward the vertical face of thetoothed apron a in order to prevent the wool piling up against thelatter too much and choking and ologgin g the action of it and unduefelting of the wool. The apron (L runs over the rollers a a a and takesup the wool brought against its lower vertical face by apron 0. Theseaprons are shown in our Patent No. 266,900, granted to us October 31,1882 but in that patent the apron 0 did not incline upward toward aprona, as above described, and consequently with long wool too great a massor body of it lay against the vertical face of the apron a, while withthe apron O inclined upward, as described, the excess of wool droppingfrom apron Ct continually rolls away from it to the lower end of apron Cand is brought up again by the latter in the proper quantity as wanted.

To adapt the mechanism to feed forward different lengths of wool, theapron C has its roller 0' made adjustable up and down, as follows: Theshaft of this roller projects at each end beyond the faces of casingAand is mounted at each end in a box m. A slot '8, curved in an arc ofwhich the axis of roller 0 is the center, is made through the face ofeasing A on each side. Each box or has an ear overlapping the slot 3 onits side, and bolts and nuts m m pass throughslot sand this car andsecure the box at in any desired position. The length of slot 8 is suchthat the roller 0' and its end of the apron may be raised to or above alevel with the roller 0 or lowered, so that the apron will inclineupward toward the latter roller, as may be required by the length ofwool being fed forward. A doffer B knocks the excess of wool off ofapron Ct back upon apron C. It is covered with projecting pins Z),covered with copper, on part of its surface and inclined pins 1) 011other parts for that purpose. The inclined pins 1) are set in the sametransverse plane to the axis of the doifer as the pins b part way roundthe same. The apron a is driven by a pulley 13, attached to the end ofthe shaft of roller a A pulley p 011 the same shaftis belted to thepulley p on the shaft of the doifer D by a cross-belt. Another pulley p"on the other end of the shaft of roller a is belted to pulley p on theshaft of doffcr B, and pulley p 011 the latter shaft is belted to pulleyp on the shaft of the roller c of apron E.

The apron E is employed to carry away the wool as it drops from thereversed teeth of apron a, and to facilitate this delivery of the woolfrom apron a a doffer D is employed, which has a faster surface speedthan that of apron a and is provided with teeth or fingers incliningbackward from the direction of rotation of the dofier, as shown, toprevent the winding of the fiber upon said teeth or fingers. The apron Erevolves upon rollers e e and is inclined upward to carry the fiber overthe edge of the bowl of the washing-machine and deliver it into saidbowl directly from the apron a.

To enable the apron E to take any wool from the teeth of the apron awhich has not been knocked off by doifer D or previously fallen from theteeth, the apron E has its roller e so set as to bring it at that pointcontiguous to the apron a, where the latter passes its roller a andchanges its direction of incline from forward and downward to backwardand downward, thus causing its teeth to open or draw apart at that pointand allowing the frictional contact of apron E to easily withdraw thewool from between the teeth.

The operation of the mechanism is as fol lows: The dry wool is throwninto the box on top of apron O, which carries it forward to apron a, andthe latter constantly takes up on its teeth a certain quantity of thewool and carries it upward past doffer B. Any excess of fiber is knockedoif by the doffer B or falls off of the surface of apron a back onto theapron C. On passing over roller a the teeth of apron a are reversed, andthe doffer D, working against them and against the inclined surface ofapron a, shoots the sheet of fiber evenly forward upon apron E to be fedto the next machine. This feed mechanism thus delivers an evenerquantity of fiber to the washer in a given time than can be done by handand without the use of skilled labor and judg ment in supplying the sameto the machine in an even quantity.

If desired, the doffer D may be dispensed with; but the operation of thefeed is more certain when it is used.

What we claim as new and of our invention 1sthe feeding-apron a,provided with teeth or spurs andarranged to move vertically upward overroller a and thence downward over roller a and the apron -O, forming thebottom of the receiving-box and arranged with one end adjacent to thevertical face of apron a and with its upper surface inclining upwardfrom the opposite end toward the former from a horizontal plane, wherebythe surplus wool 1. The combination of the receiving-box,

dropping thereon from apron a will tend to roll away from the foot ofthe latter by the action of gravity toward the farther side of thereceiving-box, substantially as described.

2. The combination of the receiving-box, the apron O, forming the bottomthereof and having its roller 0 adjustable up and down therein andadapted to incline the upper surface of the apron downward toward thesame with relation to a horizontal plane, and the apron a, provided withteeth or spurs and arranged to move vertically upward over roller (1 anddownward over roller a substantially as described.

3. The combination of the receiving-box, the apron C, forming the bottomthereof, the apron a, provided with teeth or spurs and arranged to movevertically upward over roller a and thence downward over roller a andover the intermediate roller a which latter is arranged to bring thefaces of the apron on each side of it at an angle with each other inpassing over it and to open its teeth apart, and the apron E, revolvingcontiguous to and taking the fiber directly from said opened teeth ofaprona and opposite to said intermediate roller, substantially asdescribed.

4. The combination of the receiving-box, the apron C, forming the bottomthereof, the apron (1, provided with teeth' or spurs and arranged tomove vertically upward over roller a and thence downward over roller aand over the intermediate roller a which latter is arranged to bring thefaces of the apron on each side of it at an angle with each other inpassing over it and to open its teeth apart, the doifer D, arranged toact upon the fiber carried by apron a above said roller a and the apronE, revolving below said doifer and contiguous to and taking the fiberdirectly from said teeth of apron a, where so opened apart and oppositeto said intermediate roller a substantially as described.

FREDERICK G. SARGENT. ALLAN C. SARGENT.

Witnesses:

J. B. CURRIER, DAVID HALL RICE.

